➀ China's Cyberspace Administration questioned Nvidia's H20 GPU over potential data security risks and hidden tracking functions linked to U.S. legislative proposals.

➁ The H20 is a modified export-compliant GPU for China, lacking tracking features, yet concerns may stem from efforts to boost domestic AI chip adoption (e.g., Cambricon, Huawei).

➂ Analysts view the scrutiny as symbolic, unlikely to escalate to a ban, as China still relies heavily on Nvidia's CUDA software ecosystem.

➀ In 2025, 45% of ICE cars and 39% of EVs in China were priced under $25,000, with high-end models ($50k+) showing similar price parity;

➁ Europe and the U.S. had minimal affordable EV options (3% under $25k in Europe, none in the U.S.), while Chinese EVs accounted for 8% of EU production;

➂ Strict U.S. laws effectively barred Chinese EV imports and domestic manufacturing.

➀ Yole Group predicts China will dominate global semiconductor foundry capacity by 2030, reaching 30% share despite US sanctions;

➁ China's wafer production surged to 8.85M/month in 2024, with 18 new fabs like Huahong Semiconductor driving growth;

➂ The US relies heavily on imports (57% demand vs. 10% production), but ongoing TSMC/Intel projects and tech export controls add uncertainty to China's advanced chip ambitions.

➀ Mainland China is projected to dominate 30% of global foundry capacity by 2030, up from 21% in 2024, driven by rapid expansion despite low domestic wafer demand;

➁ Geopolitical shifts highlight imbalances: The U.S. accounts for 57% of wafer demand but owns only 10% of capacity, while Taiwan and South Korea maintain balanced supply-demand ratios;

➂ Global foundry utilization will remain around 70%, with ROI concerns as ownership battles and geopolitical tensions redefine industry dynamics, favoring Asian regional dominance.

➀ Most EVs in China, North America, the EU, and APAC are produced domestically, though North America and the EU see increasing foreign competition;

➁ Tesla and Ford expanded EU-based EV production in 2024, while some European companies faced stagnant domestic output;

➂ U.S. EV production declined by 7%, offset by growth in Mexico (U.S.-led), while China exports EVs and others rely on imports.

❶ The US and EU are reducing imports from China, according to the Council on Foreign Relations;

❷ Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand are increasing exports but must import more from the US to mitigate reciprocal tariff impacts;

❸ Japan, with stronger negotiating power, is delaying trade negotiations and unlikely to reach a deal before July.

➀ Zhao Weiguo, former chairman of Tsinghua Unigroup, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for abuse of power, embezzlement of $65 million in state assets, and causing $124 million in public losses;

➁ He built Unigroup into China's top chip firm through acquisitions like Spreadtrum and RDA, with Intel holding a 20% stake;

➂ The verdict follows a two-year investigation after his resignation, reflecting China's crackdown on corruption in the semiconductor sector.

➀ Infineon launched CoolSiC MOSFET 750V G2 technology for automotive and industrial applications, enhancing power efficiency and density;

➁ Chinese car companies are expanding overseas manufacturing to bypass tariffs, with BYD building a $1 billion plant in Turkey for EU market access;

➂ Q1 global semiconductor sales grew 18.8% YoY, and NIST unveiled a high-precision atomic clock to refine timekeeping standards.

➀ Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark dismisses DeepSeek's recent hype as 'perhaps a bit overblown';

➁ Clark acknowledges DeepSeek's 'clever algorithmic ideas' but suggests it is 'six to eight months behind US frontier companies';

➂ DeepSeek's cost-efficient model training has boosted confidence in China's AI industry;

➃ Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei calls for tighter chip exports to China in response to DeepSeek's success.

➀ Chip smugglers have found creative ways to sneak semiconductors into China, such as hiding them with live lobsters, inside fake baby bumps, and other means designed to evade customs and import/export restrictions.

➁ A U.S. lawmaker is pushing for a bill to require NVIDIA and other chip companies to equip their semiconductors with tracking technology.

➂ The bill aims to track chips more generally, allowing NVIDIA and the U.S. government to determine if advanced AI semiconductors are finding their way to China, and also introduces a kill switch to prevent chips from booting if they evade export controls.

➀ China has achieved a breakthrough in semiconductor research by establishing a fully functional EUV light source experimental platform;

➁ The Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics has reached a peak energy conversion efficiency of 3.42% in their EUV development efforts;

➂ This progress underscores China's commitment to technological independence despite increasing US export restrictions;

➃ China has become ASML's largest single market, accounting for 36.1% of total sales.

➀ China accounted for 29% of all global manufacturing in 2023, according to the United Nations Statistics Division;

➁ The Chinese manufacturing sector added $4.8 trillion to the country's total economic output in 2023;

➂ The U.S. manufacturing sector's contribution to the economy has significantly decreased, now accounting for just over 10% of the country's added value.

➀ Chinese exports to the US are expected to fall by 77% in 2025, according to WTO forecasts.

➁ Chinese imports are expected to increase to every other market, with the rest of North America predicted to see growth of 25 percent.

➂ The CIS region is projected to raise exports, which the WTO says is principally related to exemptions for natural resources.

➀ China has introduced new controls on the export of several critical minerals and magnets.

➁ The process of obtaining special export licenses is expected to be lengthy, which may lead to a shortage of stockpiles.

➂ China is the world leader in rare earth reserves, holding nearly half of the world's known reserves.

➀ Nvidia announced a $5.5 billion financial hit after U.S. authorities imposed new export restrictions on its H20 HGX AI GPU designed for the Chinese market.

➁ The U.S. government cited H20's memory and interconnect bandwidth as well as its potential use in supercomputers as reasons for restrictions.

➂ Nvidia's H20 HGX is a cut-down version of its H100 processor, specifically engineered to comply with U.S. government restrictions.

➀ The Korean government announced a $23.25 billion support package for its semiconductor industry, an increase from last year's announced 26 trillion won package.

➁ The increased support is a response to competition from China, uncertainties in US policy, and rising costs for chip companies.

➂ The government has also raised the financial assistance program for the chip industry to 20 trillion won, up from the previous 17 trillion won.

➀ Multiple Chinese tech companies have announced that the recent U.S. tariffs do not affect them due to existing sanctions that have already restricted their sales to the U.S.

➁ Companies like Cambricon, Huawei, Loongson, and Longsys have said that the new tariffs will not impact their operations.

➂ These companies rely heavily on domestic and international markets outside of the U.S. for their revenue.

➀ The U.S. is a significant buyer of foreign goods, with President Trump aiming to change this, but substitution will be difficult.

➁ The U.S. tariffs could be costly for the country and for those selling to the U.S.

➂ China and the EU buy less from the U.S., making retaliation less painful and less effective.